Committed Masculinity Podcast

Chapter 7: Live a Life of Purpose: Cracker Barrel, Radiohead, and a Life that Actually Matters (w/ Mike Sanchez)

In every one of us, there is a desire for more than just existing and getting by. We want to be alive. We want to live fully and chase after and achieve dreams. We have a need to feel like our life actually matters and we’re accomplishing something of value with the time we have. We want our lives to count. Some of us even spend time fantasizing about “being discovered”, being a hero, or being remembered for something.
Many of us as men wonder why we sometimes don't understand what we are here for. I think this happens when we fail to invest ourselves in what God has placed in our hearts. This happens often when we assume our purpose, but never take the time to truly seek it out. Until we rely on God to reveal our purpose to us in times of prayer, Bible reading, meditation on scripture, and Christian community to tell us what they see in us, we’ll get so consumed in the "want to's" and "have to's" in our life that we’ll never ask God to draw out our deeper purpose. We’ll never asked what we were made for.
If we never seek God's purpose for our life, the world will gladly sell us its purposes. As we give ourselves to the purposes of materialism and hedonism, we may find ourselves “fitter, happier, more productive” and “comfortable” in the short term. But when we give up God's purposes in life, it will eventually cost us something.
Jesus said in Matthew 16:26,
“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (NKJV)
 

Chapter 8: Pursue Brotherhood: Isolationism and Why Men are So Terrible at Having Friends (w/ Gabe Rutledge & Ryan Broulliette)

Unknown, alone, and isolated. Three words that describe the modern man. It shouldn’t shock us too much that loneliness and isolation have a devastating effect on us emotionally, mentally, and even physically. Our Creator has something to say in His Word about this-
“It is NOT GOOD for the man to be alone…” (Genesis 2:18)
Human beings were not created by God to live for 27 years in solitary confinement in cells that are 9 feet long and 6 feet wide. Neither were they made to live in virtual cells of social isolation made possible by an artificial purely online world. Or self-imposed cells of emotional and relational isolation created for fear of others getting too close and not liking what they see.
Loneliness and isolation are both not good for us. In fact, they will destroy us.
 

Chapter 9: Commit to Discipleship: Clarity, Obedience, and Power (w/ Karl Williams)

If you’ve been in church for longer than 5 minutes, you’ve probably heard someone talk about “discipleship” or “making disciples”. Jesus had 12 disciples. After the resurrection, He commanded them in Matthew 28:19-20, to “go into all the world and make disciples”. In many churches, that verse is painted on the walls. The language of discipleship gets tossed around frequently, as does copious amounts of discipleship programming- discipleship classes, discipleship books, and even discipleship conferences.
It seems like a concept of which almost every Christian possesses at least a loose working definition. Yet, our application of this concept is sorely lacking. Even if most Christians have similar ideas of what a disciple is, very few of us can articulate a coherent process for how to make one. Worse yet are the Christians who have read books, attended classes, audited seminars, and gone through trainings on the art of “disciple-making”- but have yet to lift a finger to do it.
If you’ve ever looked at the commission of Jesus to spend your life make disciples and felt unqualified, unprepared, overwhelmed- you’re in good company.
The 12 Apostles just might have been the most unqualified, unprepared, overwhelmed, and unlikely leaders to lead the Christian movement. Religious leaders in Israel during that time were among some of the most educated, brilliant, and qualified in all the known world. Yet God took these 12 ordinary, uneducated, blue-collar men and used them to turn the entire world upside down (Acts 17:6).

Conclusion: The Things that Hold us Back and the Ultimate Question (w/ Corey Trimble)

All of us as men have small things- fears, hang-ups, anxieties, idols, and other things we hold onto- that have the potential to hold us back from being all that God wants us to be.
Most Christian men know that they be committed to the Lord, to their wives, to their families, and to living lives of purpose, integrity, and character.
But for a lot of men, it’s not a matter of knowing. It’s a matter of behavior.
In other words, most of the time it’s not our ignorance that holds us back from becoming all God wants us to be. It’s our unwillingness to act, to make a change, or to actually do the work. It’s our unwillingness to sacrifice, to get vulnerable, or to humble ourselves. It’s our unwillingness to be consistent, to be disciplined, and to be held accountable. We could be so much more than what we are. But so many little things so often hold us back.